


Young Love

by hxshigaki76



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kids, Playing in the park, first encounter, pre-Academy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 16:09:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13127172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hxshigaki76/pseuds/hxshigaki76
Summary: Sakura realises that socialising is not as scary as she initially thought.





	Young Love

**Author's Note:**

> A retelling of a fateful day, when Sasuke's interest towards Sakura sparked.

“Kizashi, can you believe how time has passed? She’ll be attending the Academy soon!”  
“Do tell! I am quite emotional, if you ask me.”  
The kid could hear her parents talking in the kitchen. While it was heartwarming to know they were excited for her, there was an uncertainty in her soul regarding the whole ninja thing. It was something new, strange and kind of scary. Everyone knew that being a shinobi was not kid’s play. Was she actually cut for such a demanding job?

Shortly, Sakura joined them for breakfast, but she stayed quiet for the whole time. At first, her parents didn’t notice, as they carried on with their conversation about all sorts of stuff from supplies their daughter would need to small gossip. After a while, though, Mebuki realised Sakura had barely touched her food. There was also an obvious emptiness in her eyes; those were alarming signs to a mother.  
“What’s wrong, darling? How can we help you?” She didn’t reply immediately; the girl kept staring at her omelette for a bit. Eventually, she muttered that nothing had happened at all. It was clear that she was lying. Kizashi opened his mouth, attempting to say something, but Mebuki thought it was for the best to not push the matter for now, signaling her husband to stop.  
“How about the park? Would you like to go there with me?”  
While Sakura wasn’t exactly very sociable, she still enjoyed going out. Maybe some fresh air would help clear her mind. She nodded.

She finally ate something from her plate, then left the kitchen to dress up. For some reason, this walk got her really excited.

* * *

 

“I don’t really feel like going out.”  
“Sasuke, you could  make some friends before entering the Academy. It’s more important than you think,” his mother explained.  
“I’m not interested in such thing. Itachi is strong and doesn’t really have friends, so what for?”  
“Actually, I have some, thank you very much,” interfered his older brother, who had just entered the living room. He was ready for training, all dressed up in combat clothes.  
“Name one friend of yours that isn’t Shisui,” demanded Sasuke. The boy seemed determined to prove  his point to everyone, just for the sake of staying indoors.  
“Izumi is really nice company.”  
“Girlfriends don’t count.” Itachi turned red upon hearing his little brother. He covered his face with his hand, then replied almost whispering “We’re not exactly together.” He wasn't telling the truth.

Itachi agreed with his mother about taking Sasuke out, he knew too well how important it was to have someone to rely on and treat you as an equal. He had a hard time at his age since he was an Uchiha. Despite having access to some sort of special treatment both for his name and skills, his classmates would never give him a break from all of that. While he had handled well the so-called bullies (that never did much besides teasing), he wanted the best for Sasuke. Having a good start was important.

“But what if I come with you?” asked Itachi, with a bright smile. Sasuke’s change of mood was sudden and dramatic. His eyes were big and brighter than ever. His brother’s presence in his life meant so much to the boy.  
“What about training?”  
“I think I could use a break from time to time. Anything for the kiddo, right, mom?”  
Mikoto only answered with a warm smile of approval.

* * *

 

It was sunny outside, but the breeze was a bit too cold for the end of March. The village wasn’t very busy, and neither was the park. Only a few kids were out, playing group activities, enjoying themselves. Sakura, on the other hand, did not dare to interfere, despite wanting to join them. Her mother could tell so, but she was very much aware of how her daughter didn’t want forced friendships because of her meddling; Sakura thought it would be awkward and embarrassing. 

“You should try at least, darling.”  
“What if they think I’m… annoying?” Sakura worried at her bottom lip, eyes watery.  
“Oh, come on, they don’t even know you, no one could be this mean!” Her daughter just shrugged and looked up into the bright blue sky. She hoped it would rain, but no clouds seemed to gather at all.

The sound of some steps distracted her from staring into the void. Her eyes were now glued to the people who were approaching the park. The girl assumed the two of them were brothers, even though the only thing they visibly had in common was the pitch black hair and fair skin. One of them had a combat uniform on, but he appeared to be relaxed and carefree, grinning and having his attention focused only on his younger brother. The latter seemed to be bragging about everything going through his mind, as Sakura noticed he did not shut his mouth for one second. 

_ They must have a wonderful bond. _

However, when Sakura thought they were approaching her, she turned her gaze down, to the grass; she felt _so_ intimidated.   
“Oh, are they not Mikoto’s children!” she heard her mother saying. Mebuki waved her hand, and the older brother did the same in return. Now they were clearly walking in their direction. Sakura freaked out on the inside, but then saw how the younger brother no longer had the same enthusiasm as before; he had grown  quiet and his moves were now minimal.  
“Long time no see, Itachi! How you’ve grown!”  
“Haruno-san, really glad to see you. I suppose she is your daughter?” Before the blonde could respond, the little girl spoke up **.** **  
** “Sakura, nice to meet you two.” She was now a bit more confident in herself. She smiled and looked directly into their eyes with warmth and kindness.

* * *

  
“Come on, do the same. It’s really not that hard,” whispered Itachi to Sasuke. While he had his arms crossed to his chest, probably trying to show some superiority, his insecurity was given away by the lack of eye contact with the girl.    
“Sasuke,” he proceeded to say after a few seconds.    
The boy finally looked into her eyes, and he noticed just how big and mesmerising they were. As he stared into them, his cheeks caught a pink tint, but so did Sakura’s. Her distinct features were something new to him, but also captivating. Another thing that stood out in her appearance, besides her odd pink hair, was her forehead.

_ Is it normal to have such a big forehead? _

“Don’t just stand there, get to know each other! Who knows, you just might end up in the same classroom next week!” said Mebuki.

“Maybe they feel pressured, Haruno-san,” chuckled Itachi. “If you feel like it, mom is free today. I think she would be pleased to spend some time with you. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on them.”  
Mebuki pondered if she should let her daughter alone. But she noticed immediately how Sakura gave her a reassuring look, just like the older Uchiha.   
“I suppose I can trust you with this, Itachi. But be careful nothing happens to my beloved daughter!” she tried to sound fierce, yet her voice slipped into **(** ma playful tone  
“I’m sure that won’t be the case,” Itachi smiled in return.  
“Nice to meet you again, Sasuke. Sakura, take care! I won’t be gone for long.”  
“See you, mama!” she waved to her mother, then turned back to Sasuke.   
The two of them sat down on the grass, while Itachi made himself comfortable under a tree’s shadow to study some strategies. However, he was still careful the two children wouldn’t wander off on their own.

“Your brother is a ninja, am I right?” Despite Sasuke being the one asked, she gazed into Itachi’s direction, still fascinated with his uniform and overall way of being.  
“Not any ninja, mind you!” Suddenly, his excitement returned. “He became an ANBU member at 11 years old! I so want to be like him!”  
“Yeah, right…” she smiled politely and just nodded. The girl didn’t know how the rankings worked yet. She could tell, though, that Sasuke was really proud of his brother. “I think it’s cool that you already know what you’re aiming for in your future. I am still not sure what being a ninja actually means.”  
“What do you mean you’re not sure? Being a ninja means becoming strong so you can protect the ones you love!” Anyone could tell the kid genuinely believed in his words. And to Sakura, it somehow made sense. She always expected a sophisticated explanation of what a ninja has to do, but Sasuke’s point of view was a good start for her. Suddenly the Academy was no longer a dark mystery, but rather something she grew eager to discover.   
“But it’s tough to get at the top, so beware of everything,” he advised Sakura.  
“Is this a challenge, Sasuke-kun?”  
“I’m just saying I will do what I can to get at the top,” he tried to sound cocky and confident.  
“If you are so determined, then I’m rooting for you.” With such kind and selfless words, Sakura unawarely disarmed Sasuke of his earlier attitude; his face was once again warmer and pink.   
“You’re annoying,” he muttered. The girl was at first shocked and hurt by his reply; her eyes even turned a bit wet. But as she knew better than just crying, Sakura took a deep breath and gave him a piercing look.  
“That’s rude of you, ya know? I bet you don’t have any friends!”  
“Do you, though?”

Silence fell between the two of them for a while, as they frowned at each other. Shortly after they suddenly burst into hysterical laughter, as they couldn’t take each other seriously anymore.  
“Then that makes two of us,” Sakura managed to say after they calmed down. “But I think we have plenty of time.”  
“You think so?”  
“Mhm,” she nodded in approval, “For starters, I’ve heard we have to learn to work in teams. That usually means at least 3 people.”  
He now appeared a bit thoughtful. Why 3? It was an abstract concept to Sasuke for the moment. He wanted to argue that Itachi was doing well on his own, but that would’ve been a lie; he wasn’t exactly on his own, since he had Shisui by his side. Still, they were two.

“Nee, Sasuke-kun, what’s your favorite food?” the girl inquired.  
“Uhh, that’d be rice balls with tomatoes,” he replied.  
“That’s as easy dish to make! Maybe, one day, you’d like to try some made by me.” Her kindness was overwhelming to Sasuke, so he couldn’t help but blush for the millionth time that day. The girl really was  _ annoying. _ But he had to admit he really enjoyed her company.  
“It would be nice.” Sasuke simply decided to just stare at her again, this time in a more obvious manner. This made Sakura question his decision, so she gave him a concerned look. After all, it was justified.

To him, her appearance was _odd,_ but not necessarily in a bad way. All her traits were different from what he had seen until meeting her. What he noticed this time is how she wore her hair; it was short. _Really_ short compared to the girls in his clan. It was also relatively spikey and kind of messy.  
“Have you always worn your hair short like this?”  
“Since I can remember, yeah. I like it this way.”  
“That’s such a shame, Sakura,” he tried to tease her, “I have a preference for longer hair.” She refused to fall for this, though.  
“But you said being a ninja is about being strong and able to protect your family. I don’t want my hair to get in my way. None of us can have it all,” she stuck her tongue out at him, and the boy laughed in return.  
“You certainly aren’t dumb.”  
“I have a good memory, that’s what my parents say,” she said proudly, “but if you really like someone, the haircut won’t matter.”  
“How can you be so sure?”  
“The duckbutt haircut is not my favorite,” her dorky grin was large and really funny looking, but Sasuke only wanted to hide his burning face. She did that thing _again_ and it was simply embarrassing. And how dare she call his haircut in such way? He put his hand through his hair and almost whispered “It’s not a duckbutt. And you barely know me.”  
“I can tell that you are cute and somehow kind, despite your tough shell.”  
“...Thanks, I guess.”

For a short amount of time, they stayed silent as they looked nowhere at all. Laying in the grass, now, just like that, the kids felt good. Sakura was fascinated by Sasuke and felt like she had to know more about him. Plus, she also found him  _ extremely  _ cute. Teasing him about it was kind of funny, to a certain point. 

Sasuke felt her pushing his shoulder lightly. She was now standing up and jumping from a leg to another.  
“Tag! You’re it!”  
To that, he couldn’t help but smirk.  
“You asked for it, Sakura.”  
Their giggles could be heard by everyone in the park, but they didn’t seem to notice, and neither did they care. They were enjoying themselves and it’s all that mattered. Itachi felt accomplished, knowing he helped his little brother realise something very important.

“Who gave you permission to skip today’s training?” he heard someone from behind, trying to sound bossy. Of course it was no other than Shisui.  
“I did,” he replied nonchalantly.  
“That’s not like you at all.” He paused and looked around. It took him a while, but he was extremely surprised to see that the boy running around with that pink-haired girl was Sasuke. Usually, he would be cold to anyone but his brother, so this was really unusual to see. But he believed it was a good change, nonetheless. “Did you make him befriend her?”  
“Yes and no. She is the daughter of an ex classmate of my mother back from the Academy days. We met by chance here. But I believe Sasuke would have stepped back if he didn’t like her.”  
“But I suppose he does.” Itachi slowly nodded with a slight smile on his lips.

* * *

“Who lost?” Sakura could barely speak.  
“I don’t know.” He could feel his heart beating through his entire body. “But I sure am tired.” The two of them were on the ground, almost out of breath.  
“I’m so hungry! I feel like I could eat a dozen bowls of soba.”  
“Ditto. Wanna come over?”  
“Huh?” She could easily feel how her entire face was slowly turning hot. Noticing that, the boy started blushing as well. He wished he could stay oblivious to his current state.  
“Don’t make such a big fuss out of it,” he broke the eye contact discreetly, “it’s just a meal. Mom would be glad to meet you.”  
“Oh, that is awesome!” she shouted full of excitement.

He looked at her again, observing how she drastically changed from a moment to another; that’s how she had acted throughout their day, and he found her energy and kinda goofy behavior at first annoying. But it didn’t take him long to realise it wasn’t something  _ bad,  _ that she had to change. That was her and just like that, she had her own charm. The girl’s face was also really cute. Those big emerald eyes were unique, something he could stare into forever. Sasuke was truly fascinated with Haruno Sakura.  
“Is there anything wrong?”  
“Eh?” he shook his head in confusion.  
“You’re staring at me.”  
Embarrassment was what he felt in that moment; how could he be so obvious about it? As he looked around, thinking for an excuse, his eyes landed once again on her face, but this time on her forehead.

_ Just what the hell is up with it? _

He tried picturing Sakura with what would be considered a normal forehead, but the image was  _ so _ out of place. Even if he barely met her that day, a Sakura with the smallest change is her physique would not feel right _.  _ She was just fine with that billboard forehead.  
With his index and middle finger, he reached for it, lightly poking Sakura. This was followed by a smirk and a confused look from her.  
“What about it? I know I have a huge forehead, let it be.”  
“It’s just perfect for doing this.”  
“Doing what? What did that mean?”  
“I’m not sure myself either,” he glanced with the corner of his eyes at Itachi, then returned to Sakura, “but I am sure it’s something important.”  
Despite not understanding what the brunet meant, the girl smiled.  
“Maybe we figure it out together someday.” Sakura wasn’t sure whether he heard her or not, but it didn’t really matter to her after all.

* * *

 

“You alright?”

Sakura was in her husband’s arms, in the bed of their house. After a long day of work at the hospital, she could finally relax and enjoy some time with Sasuke. The small lamp on the nightstand made the atmosphere lazy and sleepy, but both of them needed it.  
“All good, darling. Just a bit nostalgic.”  
He raised an eyebrow, giving her a somewhat questioning look.  
“I remembered about a lovely day that happened once upon a time,” she suggested in a teasing voice.  
“And what is that?”  
She put her index finger on her lower lip, thinking about a good hint to give Sasuke.  
“It’s such a shame you gave up on that haircut of yours; it was really cute. Though, it wasn’t really my thing at first.” He rolled his eyes at her words; it was clear what she was referring to.  
“How come you still remember that day? It’s been years.”  
“You just confirmed you remember it as well! Don’t try to play all tough and serious with me.” Quickly, she tried reaching for his abdomen to tickle him, but he acted a lot faster. Sakura was in tears from all the laughter, and when she managed to catch her breath, she tried to ask him to stop. When he decided to comply, Sakura made herself comfortable again, this time with her head in his shoulder. His eyes were now glued to hers; he found himself once again stuck on admiring something he had seen millions of times before, but he’d never get tired of.

“Sakura?”  
“Mm?”  
“I love you.”  
She widened her eyes at first, but then a playful smirk formed on her lips. She put her arm around him and closed her eyes. He sighed and nodded.  
“Annoying,” Sasuke almost whispered.  
“That’s more like you, darling.”


End file.
